the largest port complex on the east coast and the commuter rail system. about 77 million riders rely on it. he will tell you it is an indispensable part of their lives. -- they will tell you it is an indispensable part of their lives. it is an essential in a region that has $1.4 trillion in economic output. 11% of our nation owes the gdp. of all of the transportation facilities, those suffer the most in the superstorm sandy. we took every step we could to prepare for the storm. despite preparations, is critical link was completely devastated by the historic storm surge. flooding reached over 2 feet in lower manhattan. the storm surge reached and blasted through our passengers stations. add the path tunnels, which are ancient by today's mass transit standards. the path network is dense and closely contained with complex tunnels interlocking underneath the hudson. these tunnels contain rack up on rack of critical and decades- old signals, switches, and communications equipment that was damage with a roasted seawater during sandy. these waters damage the sig